Mark is in vacation Bible school this week (shiver involuntarily), and I know that they give the children an opportunity to give an offering for some worthy cause throughout the week. I understand there to be a "competition" between the boys and the girls for who will get the most money.
So tonight, as he was getting ready to go, I asked if he needed to take anything with him, ready to open my wallet to give him some money for offering. Instead, he ran upstairs, coming back with a whole handful of dollars.
"Some people don't have enough food to eat, but they can buy potatoes," he said, holding up what looked like most of the dollars he's saved from birthdays, etc.
Perhaps I'm stifling his generosity, but I suggested that he didn't have to give all of it, but he could decide how much he wanted to give. He chose $3 of his own money to take to give for people who don't have enough to eat.
Later he explained to his dad: "Some people don't have enough to eat. But they can buy 29 pounds of potatoes, and it doesn't cost that much."
How much does it cost? I asked.
"Five dollars. You can buy 29 pounds of potatoes for five dollars."
I don't know the details of the program, but apparently he was listening. And he didn't once mention bringing in more money than the girls. (Of course in his age range, there are few girls anyway, so it's just as well!)
Tomorrow
I will give him some money for offering, after he taught me to be generous.